The formation of a micro- or nano-sized structure by way of manipulating nanoparticles to selectively adhere to a pre-designed pattern is termed nanopatterning, which can be advantageously used for the manufacture of quantum devices and opto-electronics.
Such nanopatterning can be conventionally performed by spraying a nanoparticle suspension with an ultrasonic nebulizer and then irradiating with a laser the mist generated by spraying the nanoparticle suspension to guide the nanoparticles to adhere to pattern formed on a plate. This method, however, is hampered by poor precision and is only suitable for patterning a structure having a micron size resolution.
Another conventional nanopatterning technique has been reported, which comprises guiding charged nano-sized particles to a pattern on a plate endowed with opposite charges using a means such as electronic beams, ion beams, scanning probe microscope tips and metal tips. This method is effective for the patterning of a nano-sized structure, but a significant portion of the nanoparticles adhere to the region beside the formed pattern to generate a noise pattern. In addition, the plate used in this method is limited to those having non-conductive surfaces.
In this regard, the present inventors have developed a method of depositing charged nanoparticles to a desired nano-scale pattern formed on a substrate plate placed on the electrode of an externally grounded electrostatic precipitator by way of exploiting the electric field generated by the difference between the ground voltage and the voltage applied to the electrode (Korean Patent Publication No. 2005-4436). However, this method also did not completely eradicate the noise pattern generated by the diffusion of the nanoparticles.